The Guardian has a rather turgid article on the paintings that illustrated the Ladybird 'reading books'.
I recall that we had some of these book at home, and they were immensely readable at the age of four or five. I think they featured children called Peter and Jane, and they used to do vaguely interesting things. At school we had Robert and Judy, which were supposed to last for the entirety of one's Infant career, but I had finished them by Christmas of Infant 2. They were okay, if a little uninspiring. My younger brother had the Dick and Dora books which were dreadful, truly dreadful. they applied the laws of attrition to reading.
Dick is in the garden. Dora is in the garden. Dick and Dora are in the garden. Nip is in the garden. Fluff is in the garden. Nip and Fluff are in the garden. Mummy is in the garden. Daddy is in the garden. Mummy and Daddy are in the garden. Dick, Dora, Nip, Fluff, Mummy and Daddy are in the garden.. When you are twelve and have to hear a five year old read this, you would actually far rather tidy your bedroom!
Many of the Ladybird books were splendid. Between us, my sister and I had ones on subjects as diverse as Birds, Flowers, Ordnance Survey Maps, British Customs and Festivals, King Alfred the Great, Roman Britain, and knitting, many of which are now being utilised by my sister's children.
We then moved onto the Observer's Books - I still have my Observer's Book of the seashore, and always forget to take it to the seaside with me. Another great source of education was the PG Tips cards and the albums into which they were stuck. We had many that my uncle had collected in the Fifties eg Vintage Cars, Battle Ships. Pauline added collections such as the history of fashion and the 150th anniversary of the Metropolitan Police. The last time I saw PG Tips cards, they featured pictures of the advertising chimps...
